Week 4 of the high school gridiron season included an intriguing non-league game between the defending 1A champions Cascade Christian and rising Seamount squad Lindbergh. The setting was Renton Memorial Stadium featuring the airport in the backdrop where undefeated LHS played host.

The game broke out with a slow start as each team struggled to move the ball fluidly. The first big play of the game was an interception by Eagle cornerback Steve Celis. The home team would eventually capitalize on the momentum of the pick when Anthony Walker took a sweep 58 yards to the house. It wasn’t until the second quarter when the visiting Cougars woke up. Senior tailback/defensive back combo Zach Bartolome rumbled up the gut for a 20 yard touchdown run to tie it up. Later, he forced a fumble and turned it into a 48-yard score and the lead ten seconds later. Needing a response to swing the momentum in their favor, Lindbergh capped off a long drive with a 6 yard scamper to the goal line by DeMarco Sauls. Before the half, Evan Patrick grabbed the lead at 21-14 when he took a 3 yard run to the end zone.

When the teams took the field for the second half, the rain started to fall onto the turf and the pace quieted down. Cascade Christian used extended possession to wind down the clock and continue to build their lead. Madden Tobeck put the Cougs up two possessions on a 1 yard goal line push. The inability of Lindbergh to establish an aerial attack allowed the CCHS defense to load up in the box and pressure Samuel Nehren. Lindbergh made a late charge with a fourth quarter score, but eventually allowed Cascade Christian to put a stamp on the contest with their fifth touchdown of the game. Both teams will carry a 3-1 record heading into next week.

Since 2008, Cascade Christian head coach Randy Davis has led the Cougars to the 1A state championship game five time including winning the title in 2010. The senior class remembers how their season ended in the semifinals last year and showed determination to bring the hardware home in 2014.

“They took that to heart last year…They really dedicated themselves…I had 25 to 30 guys in the weight room at 6 o’clock in the morning all winter long…”

Coach Davis understands the Colville Indians present a challenge in the Gridiron Classic, but he explains how his team is prepared to finish the season 13-0. The Cougars have a strong core group with a winning attitude capable of taking the championship trophy to the Puyallup Valley once again!

To catch the complete radio interview with Cascade Christian Coach Randy Davis,simply click on the PLAY BUTTON below.

Day two of the 2014 Gridiron Classic started with the 1A title game which was a classic East vs West showdown of Cascade Christian from Puyallup and the Colville Indians. Each team entered the contest with a blemish-free 12-0 record. This game marked Colville’s first appearance in the championship game whereas Randy Davis had led his team to 4 of the previous 6. The senior class had knocked on the door of a state title for years and according to Coach Davis, the upperclassmen demonstrated a high level of commitment to vie for the hardware one final time. Colville’s dream season was 48 minutes away from the perfect ending, but could they complete the job?

The Cougars started the game as they have many times before by leading a long touchdown drive that eats up nearly an entire quarter of game clock. The 16 play, 81 yard march was capped off by a 5 yard run by Riley Ramos. Colville responded by leading a scoring drive of their own which ended on a Colton Vining run. The pendulum would swing back and forth several more times. The Cougs regained the lead midway through the second frame when Ramos found the endzone again. This score was made possible by a Russell Wilson-like escape by Jaelin Goldsmith who was in the middle of a collapsing pocket but kept the play alive and found an opening receiver for a big gain. At the break, Cascade Christian held a 13-8 lead.

Colville would receive the ball to start the second half and wasted no time getting back to business. Less than three minutes into the third, the Indians were back on top as Vining recorded his second of four touchdowns of the day. The Cougars started to look sluggish and lost some of the edge they carried in the first half. Colville was able to stop CCHS on a fourth down attempt in the Indians’ red zone but were stopped. Moments later, Ben Knight connected with Journy Young for 50 yards to set up Vining’s third TD. Colville held a 7 point lead with 11 minutes remaining. That changed quickly when Goldsmith tied it back up on a 59 yard keeper to the house. In the final minutes, Cascade Christian was moving the ball well to potentially set up the winning score, but Tyler Ward intercepted Goldsmith. We headed to overtime!

The Cougars received the ball first and proceeded to move the ball 25 yards in 6 plays ending with a Robert Terhune run from one yard out. It took Colville seven plays to punch the ball in by who else but Colton Vining. Instead of kicking the extra point and forcing a second overtime, Coach Cornwell decided to put the fate of the title into one play. The decision came up half a yard short as the Cascade Christian defense stuffed the run and in doing so, won the game. An exciting game from start to finish with tremendous fan support for both teams.

Saturday will mark the fifth time since 2008 that Cascade Christian has played for a 1A state title with the Cougs from the Puyallup Valley claiming the hardware in ’10. The senior class for CCHS is loaded and appears to have the pieces to overturn the close-calls in recent years. Colville will present a hefty challenge though as the Indians have had an impressive run in ’14 en route to their first state championship appearance. There was a 4 game stretch midway through the season where Randy Cornwell’s team outscored opponents 191-7! Colton Vining’s ability to run the ball against a Cougar defense unit which packs a punch in addition to its speed with the likes of Mason Tobeck and Riley Ramos will be an interesting matchup.

The ability of Colville to stop the rushing attack of Zach Bartolome and Robert Terhune who tallied 310 yards on the ground last week will also dictate the outcome of this contact. I talked to CCHS head coach Randy Davis this week and he mentioned how his team used last year’s overtime loss in the semis as motivation to get in the weight room to take care of unfinished business in 2014. Quarterback Jaelin Goldsmith is playing his best football when it matters most and has his sights set on repeating a similar performance as last week when he threw for 235 yards and 4 touchdowns. So far, the extra work has paid dividends, but he also said in his few game tapes of Colville understands the challenge ahead of his team Saturday morning. A long road trip across the state and a chance to grab the first state title in school history is certainly enough motivation for a hungry Colville squad.

One year ago, the Cougs that hail from the Puyallup Valley ended their season in the Tacoma Dome. Unfortunately for them, it was on a game winning overtime field goal by Mount Baker. This year, Randy Davis’ Cougars refused to let history repeat itself. They advanced in the playoffs to earn themselves a chance to compete for the title next week with a win over the Eatonville Cruisers. Both teams had identical 11-0 marks heading into the contest. How would one team emerge to maintain the spotless record?

CCHS wasted no time getting their dynamic offense rolling. Jaelin Goldsmith connected with Bryce Powers on a 59 yard bomb with less than two minutes elapsed in the game. Their ability to throw the ball effectively opened up the run game and turned into a rushing score by Riley Ramos. The Cougar defense led by hard-hitting Mason Tobeck contained a run-heavy Cruiser squad and pitched a shutout in the first half. One more score by Cascade Christian in the first half by Tobeck brought the lead to 21 points heading into the locker room. But before halftime, Eatonville freshman Tucker Poil pulled off a rare feat. He intercepted a pass, but was stripped of ball as he tried to return it and turned it back over. On the very next play, he recorded another interception!

Eatonville needed to make changes at the intermission to climb back into the offense and the momentum slowly started to shift in Coach Fairhart’s team’s way. A seven-play, sixty-one yard drive was capped off with a 3 yard touchdown grab by Justin Brandt from Jacob McCormick. Eatonville was able to quickly get the ball back and drive into Cascade territory. A big gamble on fourth down deep in Cougar territory fell short for the Cruisers. Moments later, sophomore tailback Zach Bartolome took the rock 58 yards to retain a comfortable lead. Goldsmith found Powers in the endzone twice more from 14 and 15 yards out to complete the Coug scoring. In the final seconds, Eatonville’s George Tomal scored a touchdown to get his team into double digits. Cascade Christian takes on Colville next weekend at the TDome.

Game two of three in the slate of girls Tri-District matchups on Thursday night at Lynnwood High School was a meeting between the Cruisers of Eatonville and a clever name for the school that essentially sits between the United States and Canada, the Blaine Borderites. These schools are separated by a few hundred miles so it would be interesting how unfamiliar opponents from different districts would match up with one another.

The Borderites caught EHS on their heels early as a handful of opening possessions led to easy buckets in the Cruiser zone. This forced an early timeout called by Davina Serdahl to wake up her team. When play resumed, Blaine kept their foot on the pedal as Eatonville was trailing 14-3 to start the game. Alexis McElwain and Taylor D’Vovec eached scored a dozen in the first half which outscored the entire EHS scoring output by nine points. Cruiser senior Lauren Pate countered with aggressive play by scoring all but two of Eatonville’s second quarter points. At halftime, Blaine grabbed a commanding lead at 29-15.

Down by double digits with sixteen minutes of play remaining, the Cruisers needed to go on a big run to climb back into the contest. Kaelyn Voss answered the call to an extent by commanding the EHS attack. She was able to notch seventeen of her team’s 29 second half points, including three from downtown. However, McElwain and Mandy Hayes kept their scoring output rolling down the stretch to preserve the Blaine lead. The Borderites’ ability to collapse into the interior when Eatonville attacked the rim prevented and disrupted many scoring opportunities. Credit the Cruisers for hanging tough despite giving up a big lead early and Blaine for not wavering after grabbing the initial momentum. When the buzzer sounded, Blaine earned a 60-44 victory.

The Sterling Athletics Christmas Classic started with an interesting matchup between a large public school and a small Christian school. Coach Kellen Hall’s Enumclaw squad entered this contest with a significant size advantage in addition to experience as the Hornets six seniors outnumber Cascade Christian’s one. However, the Cougars from the Puyallup Valley led by Jerry Williams were prepared to go toe-to-toe with their SPSL opponent.

Enumclaw established their dominance quickly as the opening tip resulted in an outlet pass and a score in mere seconds. Hornet forward Zac Webb outscored the entire Cougar roster in the first quarter as he notched 10 of his 20 points in the opening frame. The Cougs seemed to take a collective deep breath going into the second quarter because the tides began to change. Jordan Tveter continued to have the hot hand as three more jumpers fell for the junior. The vastly undersized CCHS squad surprisingly started to win the rebounding battle. After an identical second quarter output, the Hornets led 26-19 at the break.

Cascade Christian returned to the floor with the “bend-don’t-break” mentality which kept Enumclaw within reach. The Cougars accepted the underdog role with open arms by out-hustling the Hornets and forcing them to cough up the ball. EHS countered with aggressive play, but translated to numerous player-control fouls. Despite Enumclaw’s scoring woes, they held an eight point lead into the fourth quarter. CCHS started to shoot threes; this is when the hoop grew to the size of a swimming pool for the Cougars. After the first two dropped, people entered the Kennedy gym as if by magnetic force because Enumclaw’s lead was shrinking. Another pair of threes fell through and the Cascade Christian sideline erupted as they trailed by a single point. This is when Enumclaw seniors Drake Rademacher and Bryce Peterson said enough is enough. The Hornet duo demanded the ball and forced their way to the bucket and drew fouls. The Hornets were able to weather the storm and escape with a 52-44 win.

Lynden Christian and Cedar Park Christian Come Down to the WireBy Steven Dion

The 2PM game of Saturday’s ShoWare Shootout featured a pair of 1A schools: Lynden Christian from the Northwest League and Cedar Park Christian from the Nisqually League. Cedar Park dressed a handful of players that did not enter the game. Only seven Eagles players logged minutes in the contest, so CPC starters were relied on for long minutes in this game. The Lyncs had the luxury of a much deeper bench and a more prominent post presence in Logan Carlson. However, none of these factors would prevent this contest from being decided in the final minute.

Lynden Christian took control of the game early by building a double digit lead early into the second quarter. They were able to take advantage of second chances by turning them into points. This hustle yielded thirteen more shot attempts throughout the contest. Cedar Park responded to the early deficit by closing the second half strong. The Eagles buried six triples in the half. Shockingly, Cedar Park had a high shooting percentage from the perimeter than the field. By halftime, the Eagles not only erased the deficit, but took the lead 26-24.

The third quarter remained close as a handful of the ten lead changes took place in the frame. Only four Eagles players scored in the game, so the pressure was on Trey Drechsel and the other limited scoring options to match the Lyncs output. Cedar Park either led or trailed by one possession in the final minutes and put themselves in a good position to win by shooting lights out from the free throw line and maintaining efficient three-point shooting. However, late turnovers led to Lynden Christian points and opened the window for the Lyncs to finally put the game away. At the final buzzer, Lynden Christian was victorious 59-54.

The first Saturday game in the Tacoma Dome hosted the one loss Mount Baker Mountaineers against the undefeated Cascade Christian Cougars for a trip to the 1A state finals on December 7th. The first half saw back and forth action, with Mount Baker capitalizing on two fumbles by the Cougars and turning those into 14 points.

Mount Baker looked to be the more aggressive and energetic side early on, but Cascade Christian stuck to their game plan and continued to execute on deep passing plays to keep the game within a touchdown after the first half. Mount Baker led 21-14 at halftime on the back of two rushing touchdowns from Izaiha Shwinde.

Defense was seemingly the focal point for both coaches at half because the defenses on both sides heated up in the third quarter. No score from either team allowed Mount Baker to hold their seven point lead going into the fourth.

The Mountaineers struck early in the fourth quarter on another Shwinde run, his third of the contest, to take a comfortable 28-14 lead with just under 11:30 to play in the contest. But Cascade Christian wasn’t done yet; on their heels and needing a score, quarterback Jaelin Goldsmith rushed five yards up the middle for his second rushing touchdown on the day, putting his team within one score of the Mountaineers.

The Cougar defense held strong and forced a punt from Mount Baker, getting the ball back with 89 yards to go and just under six minutes to play. Cascade Christian put together a spectacular drive, marching all 89 yards and scoring on a Hunter Austin 5 yard run to tie the contest with 1:39 remaining, and ultimately sending the game to overtime.

Cascade Christian got the ball first in the extra frame but could not crack the stingy Mount Baker defense who forced a turnover on downs. Mount Baker started their possession from the 25 yard line, needing any score to win the game. After a big 11 yard Andrew Zender rush on their first play, Mount Baker was in field goal range. After three downs that resulted in no gain, Alex Tyska stepped up for a 28 yard field goal and smashed it through the uprights for the win. Mount Baker will now play in the Washington state 1A final on Saturday, December 7th.

Playoff football is exciting for every classification, and the crowds increase greatly from regular season play. For 1A schools like King’s, Saturday night’s game filled parking lots to capacity and nearby streets served as overflow. A meeting with the Puyallup powerhouse Cascade Christian put a trip to the semifinals on the line. The crowd on the home side of Woolsey Stadium were hoping they would be in the same seat next week in the semis, but the Cougs had other plans.

After a scoreless first quarter, CCHS got onto the scoreboard on the first play of the second frame on a goal line blast by stocky senior Hunter Austin. Hunter was one of many productive ball carriers out of the backfield by Cascade Christian as Riley Ramos ran the ball with regularity, one of which a 5 yard run for six points. With less than a minute remaining in the first half, King’s capitalized on a lengthy drive by pounding in a two yard run with Chris Yand. The Cougars led 14-7 at intermission.

With only seven points of separation going into the second half, it appeared that game was up for grabs. However, the Cougs were able to deflate the home team by combining circus catches with defensive pressure leading to turnovers and putting Knight’s QB Koa Wilkins in a pressure cooker. A pair of 5 yard quarterback sneaks by Jaelin Goldsmith forced KHS to adjust their game plan to catch up. The Knight’s just didn’t have the firepower to respond to the Cougar assault. A tip drill catch by Mason Tobeck in the fourth sealed the victory for CCHS as they left with a convincing 37-13 win. They will host the semis and are one win away from a trip to the Tacoma Dome.

The first of two crossover games for the Vikings of Clyde Hill and Cowboys from the peninsula was played on a chilly Saturday night on Mac Field at Lake Washington High School. This was the second matchup between the two squads; the first contest a 28-6 victory by BCHS at Chimacum on September 20. The six weeks between then and now demonstrate drastic separation between the two teams. The Viks were able to double their offensive output by putting up a staggering 56 points while pitching a defensive shutout in the process.

The first score of the game was a dazzling 70-yard run by Viking QB Kemper McQuaid. The 5’10 senior was effective with his legs as well as his arm as he tallied 5 total touchdowns, all in the first half. The BCHS offensive line allowed McQuaid along with the other backfield options like Josh Hazen and Michael Dougherty to get to the edge and turn up field. A wrecking ball on offense and defense was Vik TE/DL Tate Razor. His ability to catch passes over defenders and run through defensive lineman was a difference make in the contest. The display of sportsmanship was top notch despite the lopsided score as opposing players picked each other up and gave helmet taps after plays to show respect for the competition. The final score was Bellevue Christian 56 Chimacum 0. With the win, BCHS travels to Nooksack Valley to face the Pioneers next Friday.

Cedar Park Christian played host to 1A Nisqually division opponent Life Christian Academy/Seattle Christian Eagles. The home team from Bothell was celebrating homecoming on Bergh Field at Juanita High School. CP rewarded the crowd with an interception which would later result in the first score of the game, an 18-yard run by speedy Andrew Rickman. It wasn’t until the second frame that Life Christian got on the scoreboard. Senior quarterback Taylor Roelofs ran and threw for a touchdown in before halftime. Another long TD scamper by Rickman and a 37-yard field goal by David Grigoryan rounded out the scoring in the first half. Cedar Park led 16-14 going into the locker room.

Life Christian Academy returned from halftime with a noticeable hunger to win the game by turning up the heat on the defensive side of the ball. Jarel Jones, Logan Devries, and Luke Grocott put heavy pressure on Cedar Park’s freshman QB Rowan Parmenter. The momentum began to shift in favor of the visitors even though the third quarter was scoreless for both sides. However, a long drive by CP that was thwarted by a 4th down stop resulted in a lead-changing score under the legs of Roelofs. Less than a minute later, the LCA player of the game ran another touchdown, this time from 45 yards. Cedar Park ran back the ensuing kickoff into LCA territory and moved the ball to the 4 yard line, but failed to score. The visiting squad picks up a crucial league win as Life Christian moves to (2-1, 3-4 overall) and Cedar Park falls to (2-1, 5-3 overall).